Local governments in Cherokee County have won only a portion of the state and federal dollars requested to cover the impact of September's floods.

The county and the cities of Canton, Holly Springs and Woodstock have all received some Federal Emergency Management Agency funds as a result of the Sept. 21 flood's damage.

The money that has come in so far is paying for many, but not all, of the needed repairs, and reimbursements for response costs lag further behind.

When funding is approved for a project or reimbursement, the federal government will pay as much as 75 percent of the total cost and the state as much as 10 percent, with local governments left to foot the remainder.

The county government has received $220,767 so far from FEMA and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to repair damage to roads, parks and trails, remove debris and to cover emergency response costs in relation to the flooding. The county's request was for $634,400.

The funding allotted covers the cost of seven projects including repairs to roads and to Weatherby, Hickory Hills, Sequoyah Trails and Cherokee Mill parks, the Twin Creek Softball Complex, Valley Playground and Lewis Park Trails.

It also covers the county's response expenses. Cherokee County Fire-Emergency Services spent $7,205, the Cherokee Sheriff's Office spent $13,635 and the Emergency Operations Center spent $6,077.

While hoping for more funding, the county government is going ahead with other needed repair projects.

County Engineer Geoff Morton said the culvert at the Owl Creek bridge on Kellogg Creek Road, which was "damaged beyond repair" by the flooding, has been replaced. The cost was $233,817.

The county is working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to be reimbursed for the project.

He said the county also plans to replace the culvert on Arnold Mill Road at Arnold Mill Elementary this summer, and will seek reimbursement through the GDOT.

Morton said many of the culverts that were overwhelmed or failed during the flooding were undersized, old and deteriorated.

Before replacing pipes, the county recalculated the drainage areas and pipe sizes, and pipes were upgraded in size to handle additional flow in the future.

"With new materials going back in to replace rusted and deteriorated pipes, the future life expectancies of the replacement culverts were also extended," he said.

To protect the county from future flooding damage, the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Management is also updating its Hazard Mitigation Strategy plan, which assesses the impact disasters could have on the community.

Westbrook said the update could take seven months, adding that he and his staff will look at various potential projects that could reduce the risk of hazards.

"However, natural disasters such as the flood or a tornado will never be prevented and will happen again," he said.

The Woodstock city government has been compensated $109,716 so far for 10 projects off its list of 39, which total $773,397.

The city did not request a specific amount, but instead reimbursement for a list of projects it developed with the state and federal governments, City Manager Jeff Moon said.

After all three entities signed off on the projects, they were then submitted for review.

The city has been reimbursed so far for: debris removal, repairs to Independence Way, the shoulder at the Neese/Arnold Mill Road intersection, the intersection island on Towne Lake Parkway at Ford Parkway, equipment at the Highway 92 pump station, Springfield, Dupree and Woodstock City parks and the fences at the Creekview and Highway 92 pump stations and Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Several other projects are waiting for approval from the state Environmental Protection Division and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Moon said.

The city also is moving forward on other need projects that have not yet been approved for reimbursement.

Repairs to Justin Drive began are under way as is a fix for the headwall on Parkway 575.

Moon said he thinks state and federal funding will flow in to cover the work still to be done.

Woodstock spent $44,209 on emergency response efforts in relation to the flooding, but has not been reimbursed for the costs.

The city government also is waiting for approval of its application to buy the Waldan Chase apartment complex on Dupree Road.

The goal is to win funds from FEMA's Mitigation Grant Program, which provides state and local governments with grants to pay for long-term measures after a major disaster declaration.

The apartments were seriously damaged by the Sept. 21 flooding and have been closed ever since. Moon said it may be at least six months before the city receives word about the status of its application.

To prevent extensive damage from future flooding, Moon said the city staff is working on mitigation and other measures such as sheet piling to prevent slope failures, elevating the city's pump station and building larger culverts.

Moon said, despite these efforts, flooding still poses a threat.

"There are some things we just can't do," he said.

The City of Canton has received $133,000 in reimbursements from both the state and federal government, said City Manager Scott Wood.

It initially applied for $151,000 to the government to cover the cost of projects and personnel expenses.

Wood added Canton is scheduled to receive an additional $12,000 for repairs it made to the city water plant and at the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir intake. Canton spent $17,355 in emergency response efforts.

Wood said once Canton receives the $12,000, the cost of all the projects should be covered.

Canton's request was to fund 18 projects, including building and driveway support foundation repairs at the city water plant, repairing a 10-inch water line break at Marietta Road, damage to the infiltration basin at Commerce Boulevard and repairing "major destabilization" on Haynes Road.

To reduce the impact of flood damage in the future, Wood said the city government is taking steps such as regular maintenance of storm drains and "shoring up identified areas of infrastructure vulnerability which may be susceptible to major storm damage or flooding."

"Preparing for a 500-year occurrence is difficult, if not impossible," he added.

While it didn't suffer as much damage, the City of Holly Springs has received funding to make needed minor repairs.

The city applied for $21,704 for projects including grading, shoulder repair and culvert improvements and has received $15,516 so far.

City Manager Robbie Rokovitz said there are more projects the city wants to complete even without reimbursement.

If faced with no federal or state funds, he said options include finding city funds in the budget or cutting costs by doing the work in-house.

Holly Springs also spent $6,187 on emergency response to the flood and has been reimbursed $4,301.

Rokovitz said the city government after reviewing the aftermath now has a better idea where its "problem areas" in times of flooding are.

Through its geographical information systems department, Rokovitz said the city can map areas impacted by the flooding to make improvements to the flow of water and storm water.

"We also have implemented a storm water utility (fee) to begin specifically designating revenues for storm water improvements," he said.